Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16
A miktam[a] of David.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;(C)
apart from you I have no good thing.”(D)
3 I say of the holy people(E) who are in the land,(F)
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
4 Those who run after other gods(G) will suffer(H) more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names(I) on my lips.
5 Lord, you alone are my portion(J) and my cup;(K)
you make my lot(L) secure.
6 The boundary lines(M) have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.(N)
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;(O)
even at night(P) my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand,(Q) I will not be shaken.(R)
9 Therefore my heart is glad(S) and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,(T)
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,(U)
nor will you let your faithful[b] one(V) see decay.(W)
11 You make known to me the path of life;(X)
you will fill me with joy in your presence,(Y)
with eternal pleasures(Z) at your right hand.(AA)
Psalm 17
A prayer of David.
1 Hear me,(AB) Lord, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.(AC)
Hear(AD) my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.(AE)
2 Let my vindication(AF) come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.(AG)
3 Though you probe my heart,(AH)
though you examine me at night and test me,(AI)
you will find that I have planned no evil;(AJ)
my mouth has not transgressed.(AK)
4 Though people tried to bribe me,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
through what your lips have commanded.
5 My steps have held to your paths;(AL)
my feet have not stumbled.(AM)
6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;(AN)
turn your ear to me(AO) and hear my prayer.(AP)
7 Show me the wonders of your great love,(AQ)
you who save by your right hand(AR)
those who take refuge(AS) in you from their foes.
8 Keep me(AT) as the apple of your eye;(AU)
hide me(AV) in the shadow of your wings(AW)
9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.(AX)
10 They close up their callous hearts,(AY)
and their mouths speak with arrogance.(AZ)
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,(BA)
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion(BB) hungry for prey,(BC)
like a fierce lion crouching in cover.
13 Rise up,(BD) Lord, confront them, bring them down;(BE)
with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord,
from those of this world(BF) whose reward is in this life.(BG)
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves on it,
and may there be leftovers(BH) for their little ones.
Psalm 22[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?(A)
Why are you so far(B) from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?(C)
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,(D)
by night,(E) but I find no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;(F)
you are the one Israel praises.[c](G)
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.(H)
5 To you they cried out(I) and were saved;
in you they trusted(J) and were not put to shame.(K)
6 But I am a worm(L) and not a man,
scorned by everyone,(M) despised(N) by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;(O)
they hurl insults,(P) shaking their heads.(Q)
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.(R)
Let him deliver him,(S)
since he delights(T) in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;(U)
you made me trust(V) in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth(W) I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
12 Many bulls(AA) surround me;(AB)
strong bulls of Bashan(AC) encircle me.
13 Roaring lions(AD) that tear their prey(AE)
open their mouths wide(AF) against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.(AG)
My heart has turned to wax;(AH)
it has melted(AI) within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,(AJ)
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;(AK)
you lay me in the dust(AL) of death.
16 Dogs(AM) surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e](AN) my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare(AO) and gloat over me.(AP)
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots(AQ) for my garment.(AR)
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.(AS)
You are my strength;(AT) come quickly(AU) to help me.(AV)
20 Deliver me from the sword,(AW)
my precious life(AX) from the power of the dogs.(AY)
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;(AZ)
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.(BA)
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly(BB) I will praise you.(BC)
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!(BD)
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!(BE)
Revere him,(BF) all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised(BG) or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;(BH)
he has not hidden his face(BI) from him
but has listened to his cry for help.(BJ)
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;(BK)
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.(BL)
26 The poor will eat(BM) and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—(BN)
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth(BO)
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,(BP)
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord(BQ)
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich(BR) of the earth will feast and worship;(BS)
all who go down to the dust(BT) will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.(BU)
30 Posterity(BV) will serve him;
future generations(BW) will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,(BX)
declaring to a people yet unborn:(BY)
He has done it!(BZ)
The Ten Commandments(A)
5 Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws(B) I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant(C) with us at Horeb.(D) 3 It was not with our ancestors[a] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us,(E) with all of us who are alive here today.(F) 4 The Lord spoke(G) to you face to face(H) out of the fire(I) on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between(J) the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid(K) of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
6 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt,(L) out of the land of slavery.(M)
7 “You shall have no other gods before[b] me.
8 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.(N) 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents(O) to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,(P) 10 but showing love to a thousand(Q) generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.(R)
11 “You shall not misuse the name(S) of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.(T)
12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,(U) as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day(V) is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant,(W) nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.(X) 15 Remember that you were slaves(Y) in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand(Z) and an outstretched arm.(AA) Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
16 “Honor your father(AB) and your mother,(AC) as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long(AD) and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
17 “You shall not murder.(AE)
18 “You shall not commit adultery.(AF)
19 “You shall not steal.(AG)
20 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.(AH)
21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”(AI)
22 These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness;(AJ) and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets(AK) and gave them to me.
Paul’s Concern for the Corinthians
11 I have made a fool of myself,(A) but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,”[a](B) even though I am nothing.(C) 12 I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles.(D) 13 How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you?(E) Forgive me this wrong!(F)
14 Now I am ready to visit you for the third time,(G) and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents,(H) but parents for their children.(I) 15 So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well.(J) If I love you more,(K) will you love me less? 16 Be that as it may, I have not been a burden to you.(L) Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery! 17 Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent to you? 18 I urged(M) Titus(N) to go to you and I sent our brother(O) with him. Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not walk in the same footsteps by the same Spirit?
19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God(P) as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends,(Q) is for your strengthening.(R) 20 For I am afraid that when I come(S) I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be.(T) I fear that there may be discord,(U) jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,(V) slander,(W) gossip,(X) arrogance(Y) and disorder.(Z) 21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved(AA) over many who have sinned earlier(AB) and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery(AC) in which they have indulged.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate.(A) For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
True and False Prophets
15 “Watch out for false prophets.(B) They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.(C) 16 By their fruit you will recognize them.(D) Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?(E) 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.(F) 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.(G) 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
True and False Disciples
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’(H) will enter the kingdom of heaven,(I) but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.(J)
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